Advisor Update January 2016

SkillsUSA Michigan

Advisor Update January 2016

SkillsUSA Michigan

Welcome Back!

Congrats to our Membership Increase Schools!

Congratulations to the following schools for exceeding last year’s overall membership by at least 5 members and qualifying for the state membership increase incentive. Schools new to the list are listed in bold.

Branch Area Careers Center

Huron Area Technical Center

Livonia Franklin High School

Randolph Career and Technical Center

TBA Career Tech Center

Troy Athens High School

Warren Woods Tower High School

2015-2016 Membership Registration Deadlines - LAST CALL!

January 15, 2016 is the deadline for your final membership registration to be submitted to the National Office. All students must be paid members of SkillsUSA Michigan by January 15, 2016 in order to participate in regional, state and national competitions and/or conferences. If you have any questions/concerns about this deadline, please contact me!

All membership registration must be submitted online at http://www.skillsusa-register.org/. Paper rosters are discouraged. Please make sure that all membership checks are sent directly to the National Office. When registering, be sure to also register your section under the specific program name, not just Mixed Training. This information is very helpful to the national office in determining what programs are at what schools.

2016 Membership Incentives - SkillsUSA Michigan is encouraging each chapter to increase their membership this year. Each chapter that submits their membership by the due date listed below will qualify for the following incentive. Membership MUST be submitted online at www.skillsusa-register.org by the due dates in order to meet the requirements.

Membership Increase by January 15, 2016

For every five member increase over last year’s membership, the chapter will receive one entry into the drawing for a SkillsUSA blazer, a $118 value.

Both student and professional members are included in the chapter’s total membership.

Drawing will be held at the State Leadership and Skills Conference in April.

Chapters that qualified for the November 1, 2015 incentive will also be eligible.

2015-2016 Membership Dues

The 2015-2016 membership dues are:

Student: $14.00 = $8.00 (national) and $6.00 (state)

Professional: $20.00 = $14.00 (national) and $6.00 (state)

2016-2018 State Officer Coordinator

Applications are now being excepted for the 2016-2018 State Officer Coordinator! This is a paid position ($1,000 per year) and it is for a two year term (2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years) and the application is due January 15, 2016. All interested advisors are encouraged to apply! The application and position details are available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.

2016 Design Contest – IMPORTANT CHANGE!

Starting this year, we are changing the Design Contest to be just for the State Conference Program Cover. The State Pin Design and the State T-shirt Design will now be actual state contests. At the National level, the State Pin Design and the State T-shirt Design contests are more of a Leadership contest (ie presentation) and really not about the actual design at all, hence the change.

The SkillsUSA Michigan 2016 Program Cover Contest (the new name for the Design Contest) is now available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/compete/specialcontests/ or http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/. All SkillsUSA members are encouraged to participate. All designs must be sent via US mail to the State Office and received no later than January 8, 2016. The winner will be invited to the State Conference and will receive a gold medal.

2016 State National Anthem Contest

A SkillsUSA Michigan member will be selected to sing the National Anthem acapella at the Friday Opening General Session on April 8, 2016 at the State Conference. Interested members must submit an audition CD of them singing the National Anthem in order to be considered. Student must be a current member of SkillsUSA Michigan and must pay the State Conference registration fee. All audition CDs or flash drive must be sent via US mail to the State Office and received no later than January 8, 2016. More information is available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.

All regional contests must be completed by March 1. Regional information will be posted on the web site at http://miskillsusa.org/conferences/regionalcontests/ as it become available. Please be sure that you are in the loop! Contact your regional representatives for information regarding your region’s competitions.

In the past, there have been school cancellations on the day of a regional contest, therefore the Advisor Council has approved the Regional School Cancellation Policy at their meeting on December 13, 2011. be aware that all regional contests should plan two contest dates: the original contest date and a makeup date. The policy is posted on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.

Regional Contestant Forms

The Regional Contestant Ranking Sheet or a Regional Qualifier Direct to States Form is REQUIRED for all contests so that we know what contestants have qualified for States. An accurate contestant count is necessary for contest supply orders, contest site set-up, conference registration, etc.One of these forms MUST be filled out for all regional contests (including those contests going directly to States) and for both HS and CPS divisions. I cannot stress the importance of these forms enough! These forms are on the web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/ and are Excel compatible.

This form must be signed by the contest coordinator and emailed or faxed to your regional representative no later than 2 days after your contest.

Failure to submit this form to your regional representative will result in those students NOT being allowed to compete at the State Conference!

If we receive a State Conference registration for a contestantNOT on the appropriate Regional Contestant Ranking Sheet or Regional Qualifier Direct to States Form, he/she will NOT be allowed to compete!

For those contests that do not have a state-run competition, SkillsUSA Michigan can still send a contestant to Nationals to represent our state! If you are interested in any of the contests listed here http://skillsusa.org/competitions/skillsusa-championships/contest-descriptions/ that is NOT a state contest, please let me know by February 1, 2016. I already have a pretty big list! If more than one school is interested in a contest, I will contact the advisors involved and they will have to hold and run a state-level contest at a location of their choosing. The students in these contests need to be on your official roster by January 15, 2016 in order to compete.

SkillsUSA Michigan’s Advisor of the Year

We are looking for a few good advisors! Honor that special advisor that has gone above and beyond the call of duty by nominating them for SkillsUSA Michigan’s Advisor of the Year. The Advisor of the Year form is due to your regional representative by February 15, 2016. The nomination form is available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.

Advisor State Conference Checksheet

An Advisor State Conference Checksheet developed by Steve Lick, the SkillsUSA state certified trainer, is now available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/. This checklist is a great tool with tips to help you keep on track and organized for the State Conference.

Leadership Judge Nomination Form

We are in desperate need of qualified Leadership judges for States! We have 18 Leadership contests and we would like a minimum of 5 judges per contest. That’s a total of 90 judges! If you know of someone who would be a great judge for a Leadership contest, please nominate them by February 1, 2016. The nomination form is available http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.

State Officer Candidate Application

Being a state officer is one of the highest honors a student can achieve in SkillsUSA Michigan. It can also be one of the most rewarding experiences for a student. If you have a student who wants to run for a state office, please have them complete and submit the State Officer Application by February 15, 2016. The State Officer Application is available on our web site at http://miskillsusa.org/advisors/forms/.